Escaping Mortality
by Chachiri NoDa
Summary: When the Gods play games, not all Gods remained pleased. Some Gods take a stand to punish each other. When a game between Gods goes too far, they find themselves trying to escape mortality.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I do not own Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Chang Wufei, or any other of the following characters. This particular storyline however, belongs to me.

Author's note: The following may turn suggestive and there are Yaoi themes. If any of these things both you, turn back. If these things do not bother you, please proceed and review the following. All thoughts are appreciated if given in the polite matter. (You can tell me this sucks as long as you don't say "This sucks".)

Warning: Due to the fact that most of the names in the prologue are actual words, it may be hard to understand what is going on. Remember, capitalization often denotes a proper noun. If the Life is capitalizied, I'm talking about the character. Understand? If this continues to be difficult for readers to follow, I may have to do something. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make certain sentences and such more readable, please let me know. If there are any questions concerning the Gods and such created for this fic, feel free to ask and I can leave notes at the tops of chapters to help explain. All fics and chapters are unbetaed.

**Prologue**

**Recollections of Past**

The world is said by some to be a beautiful place, one of love, life, and merriment. The world is also said by some to be a place of fear, hatred, and cruelty. Both views are true. For love, life, and merriment cannot be what they are if one does not know of fear, hatred, and cruelty. This is known by all beings, especially by Past.

Past sighed as he looked out upon the world in its turmoil. Earth was currently full of hatred, for War was at play as he usually was. Past knew all to well how War played. He gazed around the beautiful field surrounding his perch, knowing better than anyone that his fellow Gods and Goddesses never learned from their mistakes. The field he was in had once been a place Love played games with Life, but now that War had been through here Death stood alone. It would be a while before Rebirth would appear, but Time, as Past well knew, healed all wounds.

Past lifted his flute to his lips and Time flew from it, hanging off each magical note as lingering Death was carried away and Rebirth resurfaced in its place, restoring what War destroyed and Life danced merrily up and sat beside Past.

"I remember you," Life said with a smile, "You music plays whenever I return. I wonder how long it will be before Love returns to play."

"Love will be here soon," Past said, for he knew Love better than anyone, for Love lived in the past, "Fate always leads him back."

Life played with his long braid as he gazed up into the half-shadowed face of Past, "Fate is cruel, you of all people remember her."

"Fate is a woman no one forgets, most of all the Past," he sighed, "Destiny is far more forgiving."

Life smiled, "Life knows Destiny, and Death does too. I know him very well."

Past smiled, "As you should, for Destiny travels through life and finds Death at the end."

The smile Past held gave way, "And so does Fate. She leads us all astray to suit her means, only Rebirth escapes her."

Life's smile did not falter, "I know that too. For Life, Death, and Rebirth are one. What I know, they know, for they are me."

Love danced upon the scene and through the flowers to sit in the lap of the Past. Love brushed his hands against the Past's cheek, "Good morning, lover."

Past smiled down on Love, taking in the brilliant eyes and golden hair, as he always did and turned to Life. Life and scooted closer to entwine hands with Love. They sat to enjoy the peace of the moment, knowing that War and Fate would soon come again.

Destiny walked to them with purpose, for Destiny never went without reason. His disheveled hair hid his down-turned face from them. But even if they saw it, Destiny was a cold man and wouldn't have shown them what was troubling him. But they new what troubled Destiny, for only one being challenged his well-thought plans, and that being was Fate.

"Fate strikes again," Life said, upbeat as usual and pulling Destiny to sit beside him, "What has she done?"

"Wiped out this field," Destiny muttered, "I had big plans for those people, and all she does is stomp them out."

"Fate has a way of undermining Destiny," Past said, "And Judgment and Justice usually."

"No one hates her more the Judgment," Love says, "For Fate never seeks him out before making her decisions. It makes me uncomfortable being near him when things like this happen."

"That's because Fate never seeks Justice either. She plays her games to suit her pleasures," Past said. "It has always been that way."

They all feel silent as they thought of Fate. She haunted them all in the end.


	2. Thy Women Be Scorned

Disclaimer: If you read the Prologue, then you know that I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its affiliates. All characters are legally copyrighted to their proud owners.

Author's note: Wondering what the hell is going on? Wondering how this is a Gundam Wing fic when the name Heero hasn't even be uttered once? Don't worry. The Gods must reek havoc before we get that far. It's coming. Also note that Noble and Elegance where changed to Loyalty and Virtue respectfully. This only pertains to those of have read parts of the story before. I'm having trouble deciding what I need exactly from them for later chapters and I may come bac and modify them further.

Warning: Yaoi. If this bothers you, please do not read. If you read anyway and feel offended, do not contact me to complain. You were forewarned.

**Chapter 1**

**Thy Women Be Scorned**

Destiny stomped away with fury in his step. The woman undermined him far too many times, and he would take no more.

Fate charged after him, "And where do you thing you are going!"

Destiny did not turn around, "Far away from you."

Fate contained her shock as she continued after him, "But why! What have I done to harm you!"

Destiny came to a halt and turned toward her. He bowed his head a moment before looking her directly in the eye, "You have a total disregard for Life and all the people who walk upon the earth."

Fate did not back away, "I still have never harmed them."

"NO!" Destiny shouted, fury barely contained, "War does it for you. You remain the peaceful watcher who alters the plans of Destiny, while he does the dirty work for you."

Fate gaped a moment, "Fate must control Life . . . ."

Destiny paused before he turned from her, "Life controls Life with the guidance of Destiny. You scorn Life and have no bearing over it."

"Where are you going?"

"To be with Life, we have work that must be done."

"You love him don't you!" Fate shouted and Destiny paused in his step. "You love him, but that's wrong! Fate and Destiny deserve to be together! We are one!"

Destiny did not turn to look at her, "Fate is cruel and so is Destiny, but Destiny loves Life. Fate and Destiny can only work together, for Fate hates Life."

And with those words, he was gone.

Fate stood gazing after him in utter sorrow, before that sorrow turned to malice.

"He says I scorn! He scorns me! How can he love Life so? He leads Life to Death, just as I do. Love! What a foolish thing! Love is too caught up in the Past to aid in the future. Destiny and I are the future. He should be with me."

Fate felt a depression fall over her before she had an epiphany, "If I, Fate, cannot be one with Destiny then no one will."

She turned to her desk and summoned Desire as her plan formed. Desire entered with her usual grace and with a sweeping gesture asked what she wished of her.

"I have a plan, sweet Desire," Fate said, "It will change the way things are around here forever."

Desire turned her head to show her interest, "How will this help me? I work for my own pleasures."

Fate smiled, "I know how Desire and War intertwine. You wish for War to succumb to you. I can help that happen, for Desire truly makes War into what he truly is."

Desire couldn't help but smile, "I long for War like no other, just as Loyalty longs for Virtue. If you can give us what we want . . . . What can I do to aid you, Fate?"

Past sighed as he leaned back against a tree. Love had left to be with Life. The two of them always played games together and Past knew better than to mingle with such a friendship, no matter how he longed for Love.

He was just remembering the feel of Love's embrace when Loyalty stopped before him.

"How goes the Past?" she asked.

"How goes the loyal?" he responded with a sigh.

"I am well, I suppose," Loyalty says, "As well as I can be with Virtue not knowing how I feel."

"I feel your pain," Past says, "but while Love knows I long for him, he'd rather play his games with Life. I feel used and discarded."

"Apply your wisdom to it," Loyalty said, "If he can forget, then why can't you?"

Past looked over in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Loyalty pulled a bottle from her robes, "This is the Elixir of Forgetfulness. If you drink this, you will not feel sorrow, for you will forget what you should be sorry for. It's only temporary. When Love returns the effect will wear off."

"Why does Loyalty have this elixir?"

"Loyalty must forget things sometimes to retain its nature. If one holds grudges, then how can Virtue be achieved?"

Past nodded, "It will wear off the moment I see Love?"

Loyalty nodded, "Yes, and not a second too soon."

Past reached out and took a long drought from it. Loyalty only smiled as he handed the bottle back. After waiting a moment for it to sink into his system, Loyalty turned and asked, "How do you feel?"

"About what?"

"Love."

"What about it?"

Loyalty laughed, "Then we are in success. Wait here, darling, for your lover to return."

And with that, Loyalty left to pursue Virtue.

Desire held her bottles in her hand and was about to leave her room when Destiny entered unannounced.

"I've been looking for you," Destiny said, "I need you to aid me."

Desire titled her head and requested what he needed help with.

"It is Life. I long for him so, but if I'm swooning I can not guide him down the proper paths I need for him to go."

"You wish to overcome desire?" Desire asked with a smirk.

"Yes."

Desire looked down at the two bottles in her hand and raised one up to him, "This is the Elixir of Forgetfulness. It will aid you in discarding your longing."

Destiny took the elixir with little pause, much to the surprise of Desire. Destiny was usually a cautious man. After a few moments, Destiny stood before her.

"What has happened?"

Desire tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"I can't remember why I am here. Why did I come here?"

Desire realized Destiny took far more of the elixir than necessary, but decided to use that to her advantage.

"You needed a Potion of Desire. You wanted to move ahead with your lover, but you feel uneasy. You keep getting nervous. You wanted me to help you."

Destiny stood for a moment before nodding, "Yes, yes, that's right."

Desire waved the other bottle she held, "This is it. You must drink some of it, and make sure to pass it on to him. That will ensure everything."

Destiny took the potion and nodded to her, "Thank you, Desire."


	3. Divine Entanglements

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, nor any of the characters within. I am making no money off this.

Author's Note: I know, I know. Still no sign of Gundams. But that's good does I don't plan on any being in here. The pilots and various other characters will show up shortly, I promise. Please tell me what you think.

Author's Note 2: Damn, it sure has been a long time since I've touched any of my fanfics. I wish I could blame Fan for making me lose interest in them through all the modified rules since I've been a member, but it's mostly due to being preoccupied with other things in life and spending my downtime relaxing instead of being productive. I'm hoping to change that. No promises though.

Author's Note 3: I'd like to thank all past reviewers of my fiction. On top of that, I would like to thank Tora MaCaw. I had just finished reading the lastest chapter of her "Heart of Dragon Gold" story when I was notified of a review from her. After having a fangirl moment of utter "squee," I decided that not only should I return the favor, but I should also update and continue to work on the story she left a review for. See kids, this is why we leave reviews. They can be very motivating. If you are a fan of Prince of Tennis Alternate Universe-type stuff, go read her fics here.

Warning: The flavor of the moment is: lemon-lime. Take the hint. If you don't like reading about sex, then don't continue. If you do not like reading about boys with boys, do not continue. I am aware of the rules toward lemons. I've debated on whether or not to tone the sex down, and since the act of them actually having sex is a plot point I can't take it out all together. I don't believe this classifies as an NC-17 story since there IS and will continue to be a plot and the story isn't about the sex itself. I'm not quite sure what I'll do in future chapters and I may still come back and change this one. Bear with me.

**Chapter 2**

**Divine Entanglements**

Destiny walked with purpose, as usual. This time it was to seduce his lover, whoever that was. If only he could remember . . . .

At that moment Past rose from his feet and saw Destiny heading his way. He summoned a smile for him and Destiny stopped in front of him.

Destiny had seen the smile, and somehow recalling that Past rarely smiled, he assumed he had reason. Was Past the lover he was looking for?

"How are you today?" Past asked him, "You seem more determined than usual. Something amiss?"

Destiny looked Past over and noted how desirable the man was. He was definitely attractive. "Nothing amiss."

Past looked at him curiously. What was Destiny up to? Why was he looking him over like that? He watched Destiny drink from a bottle he carried before he sighed at him. Past watched Destiny lick his lips free of the liquid.

Destiny took another sip, but this time he did not swallow, instead stepped up to Past, wrapped his arms around him and placed his lips against his.

Past was surprised, but held it well. Gods did have a tendency to be mischievous (even if Destiny usually wasn't), and when Past tasted the honey-like liquid Destiny was feeding him, he assumed that was the purpose of the kiss.

"This tastes nice," Past said, "Sweet like honey, yet sour as a lemon. Smooth as cream, yet bitter like alcohol. It manages to contradict itself. What is it?"

Destiny already felt the potion taking affect over him. His loins were feeling on fire, and he breathed in the scent that was Past before he kissed him again.

The second kiss spawned different thoughts than the first. This time Past felt the lust. He could still taste the drink upon Destiny's lips and before he knew it, he was tasting it off Destiny's tongue. In the back of his mind, it occurred to him how odd this event was, but his body suddenly felt afire, so his mind mattered very little to him at the moment.

Destiny ran his hands down Past's back and pulled himself tightly against him. He felt his arousal press against Past's. Destiny pulled his tongue back into his own mouth and pulled Past's tongue with it. He moaned as Past responded running his hands up and down his sides.

Past panted as the kiss broke and they shared a lust-filled glance before they began to remove each other's robes. They fell upon the grass beside the tree with Destiny's knee between Past's legs, moaning at the renewed contact of skin upon skin. They grinded against each other and explored each other's mouths with their tongue as their hands explored each other's bodies.

Destiny trailed kisses down Past's neck an along his collarbone, loving the taste of his salty skin. Past moaned and ran his hands threw Destiny's hair. Destiny trailed down Past's chest and teased his nipples. Past arched up against him, then flipped them over to return the favor.

Destiny moaned then as Past trailed down his stomach and stopped right above where he wanted him to be. Past teased along his navel before nudging his erection with his nose.

Destiny squirmed, trying to establish more contact, but Past ducked away from him merrily. Past placed kisses long his thighs deftly applying his tongue to the sensitive skin nearby. Destiny whimpered and then gasped as he felt something hot envelope around him.

Past used his tongue to pleasure Destiny. He teased the tip before running his tongue along the vein beneath. He teased the tip again before taking him into his mouth, moaning around it as he heard Destiny moan and toss his head about. He cupped Destiny's balls with his hand, feeling them tighten. Destiny moaned at the sensation before pulling Past up for a kiss and turning them over again.

Destiny's erection was raging, but he held back as he returned the favor Past had just given him. He lubricated the shaft with his tongue. He let his hands crawl back up Past's body and felt Past pull his fingers into his mouth, sucking on them liberally. After letting Past occupy his hand for a moment, he brought it back down, partly so he could hear Past's moans better, and partly because he had another task for it. Both of them were overheated and the interlude was far past the point of turning back. A sound to the left caused Past to glance over and a wave of recognition struck him with near violent force.

"Love."

Love stood there in shocked silence feeling utterly betrayed. Life stood beside him with his arm wrapped around him, attempting to keep the blonde upright. Destiny looked over his shoulder, his brain having trouble recognizing the two other Gods. Past stared, shock invading him as well as he realized what had happened.

"Love-"

Love fell to his knees and wept. The three men around him looked on, feeling guilt and sorrow fill the air around them. Destiny was just starting to remember Life, when the other reached down toward Love. Love felt broken. Life knelt to pull Love to his feet, but once Love stood, he turned swiftly into his other side: Hate.

Hate glared down at the two other men in pure hatred. A fire burned behind his eyes as his blood boiled with fury. He turned his gaze first to Past.

"You have betrayed me, one who held my heart. I once thought highly of you and cared about you more than anything. You are now nothing more important than the dirt we stand upon. You are what you are . . . the Past, and no one shall ever speak of you again."

Past felt his own heart shatter and curled up into a ball. He wept for the lose he felt as Hate cast judgment upon him. Once again, no one thought of proper justice.

Hate turned to Destiny, "But you hurt me even more. You have given into temptation that was mine alone. You have stolen from me what I held most dear. For that, my hatred for you will be eternal. I shun Destiny! No longer will Destiny determine the course of Love and Hate. Soul mates will cease to exist. You have ruined their happiness by ruining mine. Love will never go near you again! Suffer from the lack!"

Destiny felt like something had been torn from him, but he felt . . . indifferent. What had happened? Shouldn't he feel upset over ruining what had been between Past and Love? That was it. Love had denied him of that . . . love. He couldn't care about what he did to others, if he didn't care for others. He felt suddenly cold and deprived.

All was silent, as they became aware of what had occurred. Footsteps approached as Loyalty, Desire, War, and Virtue cautiously approached, having felt the impact of Hate's actions begin to modify the world. The four gazed down at Destiny before turning up to Hate.

Virtue spoke first, his tone one of pain; "Do you realize what you have done? You have taken away all hope. For if Destiny cannot feel, he cannot perform his duty as Destiny. Life, thus, has no meaning."

Hate gasped and turned to his friend, but saw nothing there but a depression-fill vessel. Virtue was right, what Life had once been, had just been ruined in a moment of jealousy. No longer did Life possess the brightness he had before.

Life wept, as he felt insignificant compared to everything else. Life considered reverting to Death and saw no reason to reject the idea. Life turned to Death and vowed to remain as such, for Death was never insignificant, and felt no loss.

"Love truly does kill," Virtue said, "For it has just occurred before us."


	4. Judgement Cast and Justice Sought

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing nor the characters contained within. I am making no money from this.

Author's Note: Well, things have certainly been torn apart, haven't they? Wait until Judgment and Justice figure out how to fix it. You have been waiting this long to see a pilot and now it's almost here.

**Chapter 3**

**Judgment Cast and Justice Sought**

The ill-behaved Gods remained where they stood, feeling the mistakes they have made. How could this be righted? Where do they turn to fix this?

They did not have to look for the answer, for Judgment stormed up upon them with fury blazing.

"Who dare cast such ill-judgment!"

All the Gods stood and stared, Judgment was furious once more. Judgment noted what had occurred, knowing the facts without them being spoken and looked back and forth between the Gods with disgust.

"You are all dishonorable! You do not deserve the divinity granted onto you!"

Judgment knelt down beside Death, who looked into his eyes with no true thought. Death thought very little. How could anything Judgement do hurt him more than Love had? But Judgment had a broader effect than they all realized.

"This wrong must be righted immediately!"

"What do you care about our troubles, Judgment?" Death asked, not fearing him in his current state, "What purpose do we serve to you?"

Judgment glanced at Death and relented, "You are correct if you assume that I would do nothing if I did not benefit. I must correct this in the name of Justice."

"Why doesn't Justice come and fix it then?" Death asked.

Judgment's shoulders slumped, his dark hair falling across them, "Justice speaks not with me anymore. She has seen all the ill-judgment that has been cast lately and feels I am to blame. She says I lack the observant gaze I should have. She believes my judgment should have been cast first and says that since the judgment is unjust, she will not show herself again until it has been righted."

They all felt his despair, for Judgment did not contain that particular emotion well. It seemed to radiate in waves as his anger disintegrated under its weight. Judgment longed for his Justice, but she would continue to elude him until something had been done. And Judgment was determined enough to do it.

Judgment raised his head and spoke, "I have determined that all of us must suffer."

The Gods looked up in surprise, but Judgment did not heed them.

"We have all been in error here and we shall all pay the price. I have decided that we must learn the true meaning behind our emotions before they get out of hand again. I have sentenced us to mortality."

The Gods were shocked into silent fear. What was he thinking!

Virtue spoke up, "But Judgment! Surely you don't-"

"Surely I do!" Judgment interrupted, "For once our mortality has ended the wrongs must have been righted. All those who have confessed to their sin and have worked to change it will be granted there divinity by Justice."

"But that is not fair," War cried, "You blame us all for this!"

Judgment stared War down with ease, "Of course, for you are all to blame, directly or not. You're actions have led this to occur. All but Justice will lose their immortality, for she must revert us back to ourselves."

Virtue stepped forward, "Show mercy-"

"Judgment!" he shouted, "Feels no mercy for the stupid! Embrace you mortality, for if you don't change the way you are, your souls will travel to the Underrealm and be replaced by one more worthy of the place you now hold!"

And with that, our story truly begins.


	5. Hidden Phone Calls

Disclaimer: If you failed to notice the disclaimer on the first few chapters, allow the author to reiterate: I do not own Gundam Wing or any other characters contained within. No money has been made from this story.

Author's note: Figured out which god's which? Some are pretty easy, but some a tad bit hard to peg. That's part of the fun. Each character will reveal little parts of themselves that are similar to the god they once were. You will gradually begin to see how that god applies to the character. I hope you all are enjoying this. Just so you know, not all relationships will be boy/boy. There are some m/f. Sorry if this part is dull.

Warnings: Drama, maybe. Confusion, must likely. Mindless ranting, of course.

**Chapter 4**

**Hidden Phone Calls**

Footsteps.

That was the only sound as he lay in the bed. His own breathing seemed to have been put on mute. Or maybe it was because he was holding his breath?

Footfalls.

The individual wore heavy shoes. Each fall left an echo behind it. The sound held a crispness that screamed: boot. The man was definitely large, for while the walk was brisk, the steps we spaced far apart in their approach. He would be here very soon.

Boot steps.

The man was just on the other side of the wall. He rose quietly from the bed and slid down against the wall.

Silence, then a softly made but loudly heard knock.

"Master Quatre," the deep voice asked, "are you sleeping?"

Silence. He shifted in his position beside the corner and crawled toward the door slowly. A moment's pause before the footsteps resumed and faded out to no more than a pitter-pat.

He stood up and opened the door, peeking down the hall to see Rashid round the corner. He pushed his blonde hair back behind his ear and gazed back the way Rashid had come. No one was coming from that direction either.

Quatre Raberba Winner released the breath he held and began walking down the hall after Rashid. Rashid came and checked on him every night now to ensure he had went to bed. He'd been suffering from insomnia lately and the large man had grown concerned.

Quatre, though very trusting of people, most of all Rashid, had the inclination that maybe Rashid was really checking to see if he slept so he could go off and do something he didn't want "Master Quatre" to know about.

Quatre's skills at following people weren't up to Heero Yuy's standards, but following the giant was very easy. Rashid, while watchful, never looked behind him, so Quatre didn't have to dive into some hiding hole whenever Rashid felt eyes on his back. Quatre was starting to think Rashid was only leading him on and knew he was back here.

Rashid paused at a door and knocked on it. Quatre recognized it to be the room currently occupied by his sister Aisha, who was visiting him. His sister opened the door and brief words were exchanged. The door closed and Rashid went about his business down another corridor.

Part of Quatre wanted to interrogate his sister on why Rashid spoke with her. Another part rationalized that maybe Rashid was checking to see if she had fallen asleep or chose to work late as usual, for security reasons. Another part pondered whether the man had a thing for his sister, but he quickly killed it. Aisha had a man over in Milan that she was practically engaged to, and Rashid wasn't even her type.

Quatre continued to follow Rashid when a slight buzz was emitted from the large man's waist. Rashid pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt and spoke into it. Rashid's voice carried easily to Quatre's ears.

"Yes?" A pause as a response was made. "I'll be there shortly; have him wait again. You'd think he'd stop calling."

Quatre's curiosity was peeked and he continued after Rashid, now curious as to who had called. He heard no phone. Had Rashid taken to monitoring and screening his personal calls now as well? Quatre decided that he should to talk to Rashid tomorrow morning.

Rashid entered a room that Quatre recognized as the security room. While the Maganacs were many, the house was huge and cameras had been set up to aid them. Quatre had often thought of ordering the large group to move on and let him be, but he kind of felt safe with his own personal SWAT team at the ready.

Quatre stood outside the security room door and listened for voices. Rashid's he could easily pick out. He thought he also heard Abdul's, but he wasn't certain. The two spoke briefly before another voice was heard.

"May I please speak with Quatre?"

Quatre's breath halted; that voice was so familiar. He KNEW he knew who it was, but the face that went with the voice was hiding back in his memory with no desire to resurface.

"Master Quatre is sleeping," Rashid said, with obvious disdain. "You should call earlier."

"I did," the voice said, "but he was engrossed with the violin."

Quatre's mind searched for when he played the violin that day, but failed to find it. Rashid was lying to the caller.

"You seem to have bad timing," Rashid said simply.

"Bad timing is lethal in my line of work, and I do believe my timing is excellent."

Quatre pondered at why Rashid was being rude, but quickly dismissed that thought as he began to wonder exactly what the caller did for a living. What kind of job could leave you dead if you are too slow?

Silence came from the room and Quatre was tempted to open the door and find out what was going on when the sound of footsteps began to approach. He glanced down the corridor he had come from before he dashed into the room across the hall. It was the library.

The footsteps passed and Quatre exited the library when he was sure the guard had turned the next corner. Quatre crept back to the security door to find that the conversation had continued in his absence.

"Why do you insist on keeping me from speaking to Quatre?"

"We do not appreciate your kind here, boy," Rashid said with obvious venom, "Let Master Quatre be."

"What do you mean 'my kind'? Quatre and I are more similar than anyone else I know."

"I know why you wish to speak with Master Quatre. I am not a blind man. Leave him be. He needs not such things."

The call must have ended then for no reply had been given and footsteps approached the door. Quatre dashed back into the library as Rashid exited and headed back down the corridor after the guard. Quatre poked his head out and walked across and opened the security room door. Abdul was sitting in a chair and glancing over various monitors. One of the screens was blank, and Quatre was sure that was the one Rashid had taken the call on.

"Hello, Abdul," he said approaching the monitors to search for Rashid, who was searching through the kitchen.

Abdul glanced over at Quatre in surprise, apparently having not noticed him on the monitors while he had followed Rashid. Quatre guessed that had something due with the book that rested in his lap. Quatre didn't comment however and merely looked down at the control board and looked for the phone toggle.

"Who called?" Quatre asked casually.

There was a silence as Abdul pondered whether or not to obey Rashid or Quatre. Abdul decided on the middle route and pointed to a small display on the board. Quatre pressed a scroll button so he could see the last call. It had been from a public phone so no ID was present. But the location was there. The call had come from Paris, France.

Quatre could not recall anyone he knew from Paris so he assumed that the caller was traveling through it. Who did he know that traveled? He searched his memory to find several people fit that requirement, so it needed to be narrowed down.

Quatre applied what he knew: the voice was male and had no accent; whoever called was also young, but had a slightly wary tone, which spoke that the caller had some experiences behind him; and the caller claimed to be more like him than anyone. This narrowed it down quite a bit. And Quatre was utterly surprised when it occurred to him who it had to be.

Trowa.

He hadn't seen Trowa since Mariemeia, which was three years ago, but Trowa was the only person who was anything like him, with the exception of the other pilots. Trowa traveled with the circus. Timing in the circus was important, especially when knife throwing with one's sister and aiding in acrobatic routines. Surely Trowa was the one who wanted to speak with him.

But why did Rashid not want that to occur?

"Abdul, why is Rashid keeping secrets from me?"

Abdul seemed to not hear him for a moment, but he sighed and stared at the screen in front of him, "He worries about your well being, Master Quatre."

"Why would Trowa be a danger to my well being?"

"I'm not sure, Master Quatre. Rashid sees things I do not."

While the response did not answer the question, it did confirm that Trowa had indeed been his caller. Quatre felt a flutter in his chest. He suddenly longed to speak with the pilot, but how does one contact the circus? Surely Trowa was no longer near the phone he had just used. He would have to catch him next time he called. Which means he'd have to follow Rashid again.

Quatre bid Abdul goodnight and headed toward his room. He would deal with Rashid tomorrow. His thoughts were occupied with his green-eyed friend. Why had Trowa called? Was he in trouble? Had something happened to the circus? To Catherine?

Quatre changed into his usual bedclothes, a light colored shirt and drawstring pants. He lay down in his bed and thought about Trowa. He pondered why such a voice had eluded him earlier. Trowa has spoken in a tone he had never heard before with Rashid, which made he sound unfamiliar. Quatre wondered if Trowa's hair was the same. Quatre smiled as he remembered the long bangs that hid Trowa's beautiful eyes from sight.

Quatre drifted off thinking about Trowa, and Trowa invaded his dreams.


	6. Tap Tap Tap

Disclaimer: Alas, but I do not own Gundam Wing, with no lack of interest on my part, mind you. Who wouldn't want their hands on these . . . charming young men?

Author's Note: Set timeline and little else in last chapter. But you did get to see Quatre, ne? Shouldn't that make it worth it?

Warning: Yaoi. No sex, but sexual images are conjured.

**Chapter 5**

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Will he ever quit! All he ever does is tap-tap-tap on that laptop!

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I might as well be dead.

Duo Maxwell stood up from his lounging position to shot a rather nasty look in Heero Yuy's direction. The young man seemed not to notice as he continued to type away. Duo often pondered what Heero spent so much time at that laptop working on since the war was over, and he was beginning to think Heero clung to it like a security blanket.

Duo walked over to the closet and changed into some gym clothes.

"I'm going out to the quad to run around," Duo said, "You wanna come?"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Guess not. Duo sighed as he tugged on his tennis shoes and abandoned the dorm room. He'll never understand why he decided to go with Heero to college. It's not like they needed the education. They knew more than most kids their age, but since they didn't really have a degree to flash around it did little to help them. Who thought you needed more than your brain to get a job?

Duo broke out into a run as he reached the sidewalk. He discovered that running helped expel all the access energy he felt. Whenever he got frustrated with Heero, he'd slide his running shoes on and take off. Why did he room with Heero anyway?

He knew why. Cause the Perfect Soldier had the perfect body. One which he subconsciously flaunted by wearing those damned spandex shorts. The war may be over, but that stuff still clung to his thighs as sleeping clothes. It was practically obscene and Duo loved everyone minute of it.

Duo didn't kid himself. He knew he was attracted to Heero. He wasn't sure why. It could have been those thighs, his untamed hair, his chiseled features, those Prussian blue eyes . . . aw hell, it was all of that. Heero Yuy was perfect. . .

But blind as a bat. He never once looked at Duo with anything other than annoyance. Duo knew he looked good. Girls and guys a like hit on him constantly, as a matter of fact, that chick across the street was doing it now. . . .

Duo smiled at her as he rounded a corner. His braid bounced behind him like an untamed snake, smacking against a street sign. Duo remembered when he hit an old lady with it that last time he rounded that corner. That chick across the street had gotten a real kick out of that.

Sometime later, he returned to the room to find Mr. Perfect had left. The laptop was shut and hidden somewhere in the room. Duo took the time to examine Heero's side of the room, perfectly clean. Duo's side however was the epitome of chaos. Last week's laundry still sat discarded against the wall, having never been put away.

Duo stripped and skipped into the bathroom. He shed his clothing and turned on the shower, surprised that the water was actually warm for a change. He paused to undo his braid, since it required cleaning. His hair cascaded down his back as he placed the hair tie on the counter. He ran his fingers through it for a moment as he walked over to the clear shower door. He pulled it back and jumped in.

Duo knew better than tackling the braid first. With the time it took, the water would have run cold and Duo would get pneumonia while cleaning himself. While giving a brief glance at Heero's soap, he picked up his ocean-breeze body wash and went to work. Duo had taken to the stuff after coming across it after taking a shower in a sorority house after a foam party and immediately deciding to pamper himself with it, bought a bottle of his own. He had just ran the loafa up a well-muscled thigh when the door to the bathroom opened.

Duo's head shot over to see Heero standing in the door, now divested of whatever deep thought he had been having that prevented him from noticing that the water was running. Heero remained frozen as he stared at Duo in surprise, then turned and slammed the door, escaping back into the dorm room. Duo blinked after him then went back to washing. His face was red do to a sudden blood rush.

Heero leaned back against the closed bathroom door and panted. Why had he reacted that way? He had seen Duo naked before (Duo had returned from parties with little more than a towel on more than one occasion). What was different now? Yet his heart was beating rapidly and blood was flowing faster into places Heero wasn't used to it traveling. Heero let his gaze drop to the slight bulge in his shorts.

Heero sighed and walked over to the desk and pulled his laptop out of the bottom drawer. He set the thing up and continued into the ritual he had grown accustomed to participating in.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Every time he caught some glimpse of Duo, either naked or merely suggestive, he sat down and typed away at his laptop in order to make the feeling go away. He had already sat down earlier for this very reason. He had a decent size novel in the making; Duo was rather suggestive most of the time.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Heero felt no emotion what so ever for his braided companion. He just felt lust. He couldn't even begin to explain it. Some point after he had met the pilot, his thoughts had took to devising compromising situations for the two of them to fall into; the shower scene he just lived through had played in his mind several times. The exception being that the image in his mind ended with Heero pressed against Duo as the shower poured down over them.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Heero shook his head to try and clear away the image, but failed to succeed. He was going to get a few more pages written before he was over this.


	7. Alcohol is a Girl's Best Friend

Disclaimer: As mentioned in the previous chapters, I do not own Gundam Wing. I do not own any of the characters contained within Gundam Wing.

Author's Note: Four pilots down. Now all I need to do is include the others and this soap opera can unravel. As I go along, clues to who is who will be dropped, so if you don't know by now, don't feel bad; I confused myself a minute ago. :) Feel free to guess in the reviews (Hint. Hint.) This is relatively a short chapter.

**Chapter 6**

**Alcohol is a Girl's Best Friend**

The place was old and dirty. The floors were sticky, the metal stools were rusty, and the bathroom was a nightmare all its own. There were better places to get drunk. This one was just nearby, and the bartender had a tendency not to ask questions.

Knock. Knock.

The bartender raised his head to look over, then turned, grabbed a bottle of tequila and stopped in front of her. He filled her glass again, marked it down on her tab, and then placed it on the shelf in front of her beside the bottle of Wild Turkey.

Didn't he drink Wild Turkey? She could have sworn she saw him drink it before. Zechs preferred it to other things. She'd rather have the tequila herself.

Noin sighed as she swirled her drink in her glass. How long had it been since she saw him? She had left him on Mars, right? She had to come back to Earth for something, and he told her to not worry. Dead men don't die twice, right?

She remembered the call Lady Une had sent her. It was slightly emotional for the general. She too knew what it was like to lose the man you desired more than anything. She still clung to the memory of Treize. Noin felt detached from Une though. Noin was certain Zechs knew she loved him. Whether Treize knew about Une's feelings is something only dead men will ever know.

Was Zechs drinking Wild Turkey with Treize right now? Did he feel the loss of his own life? Did it leave him emotionally scarred to know he was dead? Does he even know he's dead? Or is it just like being reassigned, you know you are somewhere different, but everything looks the same? These were questions she won't find the answers for.

Not till she died.

Noin wasn't suicidal. She knew better to kill and dishonor herself. If she saw Zechs in the afterlife after she killed herself, he wouldn't want anything to do with her. She couldn't bare him to openly tell her to leave him alone. She said she'd never leave his side, though she had to say it so often she pondered whether the war had worn away Zechs short term memory. No, Zechs would not accept her if she died by her own hand. He was a soldier, a warrior. There was no honor in self-destruction, unless you took the enemy with you, but with the war over, there was no enemy. There was no way to die honorably now. Unless she knocked some kid out of the way of a car or something, but those kinds of things were pretty hard to stage.

"Hey there, beautiful, you look a little sad," a voice beside her said.

She turned her head to see one of the patrons of the bar leering at her suggestively. Strike one. The bartender looked over to observe, knowing what was about to occur. He had seen it many times since Noin first wondered in.

"I think I might be able to help you," he said, leaning against the bar, twirling a beer in his hand, "You just have to let me."

Strike two. Noin turn back to her drink and finished it. Knock. Knock. The bartender came back and filled it up, while keeping an eye on the patron.

"Let me buy your drinks for you," the man said, "A pretty face like that shouldn't have to worry over such a thing."

Strike three. Noin looked the bartender in the eye and gestured at the now empty tequila bottle.

"May I?"

The bartender handed it over without remorse. He saw this coming. The guy should know better than to come up to a woman who was strung on tequila.

Noin held the bottle by the mouth, turned and broke it against the man's temple. The man fell from his stool and staggered away from her. Noin pick up his beer from the counter, tasted it, spit it back out, and then poured the rest onto the man. She tossed to empty beer bottle into the air. The bartender caught it and said goodnight to her as she left, knowing she'd be back soon enough. He gestured for a bouncy to drag the man off to the side so he could sweep up.


	8. Intuition and OverBearing Women

Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Gundam Wing. Though I doubt any of you thought I did.

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter back there. I just felt like it was the right time to leave Noin alone. I'll try to make this one longer.

**Chapter 7**

**Intuition and Over-bearing Women**

The former Colonel Une leaned back from her desk and stretched. It was getting late and she had no real reason to still be at Preventer's HQ. No international disasters had occurred recently. No minor altercations anywhere. The world was sitting in what she assumed to be the eye of some upcoming storm. Nothing was ever this quiet. Her secretary made the point that she should take advantage and start getting some decent rest.

General Une knew she should, but something told her not to leave her office. She didn't believe in superstitions, and the fact that today was Friday the 13th held no true meaning for her like it did the majority of the base. Yet she felt the unease just the same. Maybe she should step out and head down to the officer' mess.

The feeling of foreboding she'd been trying to ignore increased at the thought. What was her intuition trying to tell her? And why did it want her to stay put? The day before had been the day she received the call on Zechs, so that wasn't it. Something was going to happen soon, and she needed to be here for it.

She called her secretary to get her a cup of coffee, then paced around her room. She sorted through the cloud that seemed to hover around her mind. Had she forgotten to do something? Was that it? She let something slip from her routine and now it came back to haunt her. What did she NOT do today?

After drinking her coffee and not coming forward with a conclusion, she resorted to sitting at her desk and staring at its polished top. What the hell was bothering her? She should just go home and come back tomorrow. Whatever was lingering after her attention would be here waiting for her.

She stood up and marched toward the door, determined not to let her intuition change her mind. She was too tired to handle playing mind games with herself. Her hand had just touch the knob when her comm. unit beeped.

Damn.

She sighed and headed back to her desk. She sat down in her chair and composed herself, then turned the comm. on.

"What is it?"

On the screen was a very nervous looking lieutenant. Une was aware of the reputation she had around the base, and wasn't surprised when the lieutenant paused before responding.

"General Po asked me to contact you since she is in surgery," the lieutenant strained to say.

Une took in the fact that the lieutenant didn't present his name, but overlooked it. Hadn't she placed Sally into a command position far away from medical duties? Of course she had. She still remembered the blazing argument that had ensued. Sally had not been thrilled that her skill as a doctor was being ignored.

"And why is General Po in surgery when she is not one of the medical personnel, lieutenant?" she asked calmly.

The lieutenant seemed to nervously ponder that a moment before stating, "To put it bluntly, ma'am, she kicked half the surgical team out of the ward."

Une raised an eyebrow. Sally was not known for such rash things, there had to be a reason.

"Lieutenant, you aren't being entirely informative. Why would the general do such a thing?"

"Cause of the patient, ma'am," the lieutenant stuttered out, "She wouldn't let anyone else near him."

"WHO IS THE PATIENT!" Une said, letting frustration out.

The lieutenant nearly ran from the comm. unit, "A Major Chang, ma'am."

It only took a moment to process how many Chang's there were in the Preventer's corps, and less than that to determine which one of those would force Sally to take action.

"I'm on my way."

She closed the comm. and headed out the door. She noticed that the feeling of foreboding shifted from leaving her office to staying in it. She silently cursed who ever blessed her with such a strong woman's intuition as she boarded the elevator.

Soon enough she was in the infirmary and staring through a glass partition beside the angered chief surgeon. She ignored the man's frustrated tirade as she watched Sally work. Upon the table was the suspected Chang Wufei. She could not see what was wrong with him from where she stood, but didn't doubt that it was a tad bit serious. Sally's brow was covered with sweat as she worked with accuracy and speed. The nurses assisting looked even more nervous than Sally. Another surgeon was also there aiding Sally, but he seemed to know better than his superior officer who continued to rant about his infirmary being invaded by upstarts. Une pondered whether to merely tell him to quiet down or to deck him.

"Do you know what happened?" Une said, her calm forced.

"No," the chief sighed, looking suddenly drained, "All know is that there's a chest wound. A bullet caused it, as far as I can tell for the whole four seconds I stood over him."

"When?"

"Not too long ago," the doctor said, "She's only been at it for ten minutes."

Une severely doubted the Wufei would have been on some kind of mission. If it had been true, he would be in the nearest hospital closest to the mission site. She also knew Wufei was on leave. Apparently he had been near the building when the incident occurred.

Une sighed and turned away from the wall, knowing the only two people who could answer her questions were on the other side. She would have to wait. Or assume.

She could tell by looking at Wufei's face that there had been a struggle. There was a small wound at the temple the Sally was neglecting, so she assumed it wasn't serious. Sally had messily prepped Wufei for surgery; his clothes were still on, having been torn open for her to operate. Sally was busy around the chest wound, which looked very close to the heart.

God, Treize, what now?


	9. Impending House Guests

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. I feel that you are not surprised in the least sense of the word. I DO however own this plot. Anyone who steals it, it would be to best run for his or her life, since I have a little Asian boy with a rocket launcher who would be more than happy to take care of you.

Author's Note: I'm also dreadfully sorry for all of these short little chapters. At the rate this is going this story will have fifty chapters. :) I'll try to make these longer.

**Chapter 8**

**Impending Houseguests**

He sighed as he once again followed Rashid down the hall. How was it that the man did not know he was back here? Rashid wasn't this careless. He needed to reassess the whole security situation.

After he talked to Trowa.

Quatre planned on waiting until nightfall and the last of Rashid's shift before he followed him. But he had gotten lucky. Ahzim had contacted Rashid while the two of them were talking about the eastern wall that had recently been damaged by a careless Maganac wrestling match. Rashid had excused himself and dashed off. Quatre sighed, counted to ten, and followed him.

And now he stood outside the same room he had been at the night before. Once again Rashid spoke to the caller. Once again it was the same voice from the night before. Rashid had just told him that Quatre had went into the city with one of his sister's who was shopping for wedding presents.

Quatre took a deep breath and opened the door.

Two sets of eyes turned toward him. He caught sights with both of them before turning toward the screen and seeing the pilot who had just been haunting his dreams. He looked exactly the same as he remembered.

Quatre stepped to where Trowa could see him. Trowa's face light up slightly. Trowa never really expressed himself with his face, but Quatre's trained eyes picked up the changed, and he felt slightly giddy at still being able to do so. Quatre let his own smile travel across his face as tilted his head.

"TROWA!" Quatre shouted happily, "It's been so long since I've seen you! How have you been?"

Trowa smiled for real then and gave the slightest of chuckles, "It has been long. I'm doing well and I hope you are as well. I've missed you, Quatre."

Quatre couldn't explain the blush that covered his cheeks with the words, but he turn expectantly to Rashid and Ahzim, both of whom stood there stupidly before getting the hint and leaving the room. Quatre turned back to Trowa, tilted his head the other way and sat down in a nearby chair.

Quatre shyly looked down at his lap before looking back up to meet Trowa's eyes and sighed, "I've missed you too, Trowa."

Trowa tilted his own head to match angles with Quatre, "Something wrong, Quatre?"

Quatre paused before nodding, "I think Rashid's hiding something from me. He's getting over-protective for some reason. That and I think Aisha's going to run away and elope pretty soon. She's been dropping hints about it."

Quatre sighed and looked up, "Where are you now?"

"I'm in Paris. We're moving out tomorrow to head toward Spain."

Quatre nodded, "I'm here in Geneva, but you knew that since you called. I think Rashid's wanting to-"

"Master Quatre!"

Quatre turned to see Ahzim in the door, "What is it?"

Ahzim didn't beat around the bush, "The secondary line has a call from Preventers HQ. I believe something has happened to your friend Chang Wufei."

Quatre gave a start before turning to Trowa, "Did you catch that! Something has happened to Wufei!"

Trowa nodded, "I'll get off the line-"

"NO! There's a second. It'll only take a moment and I can update you on what's happening."

Trowa nodded and Quatre turned to Ahzim, "Patch it through to the monitor beside me."

A few moments later, General Une was before him. She looked pretty ragged and worn out.

"Hello, Quatre, I've hope you've been well. I'm sorry to call to deliver bad news."

"It's not your fault. What's happened to Wufei?"

General Une sighed, "Late last evening I got a report that Sally Po had kicked half of my medical team from the infirmary. Apparently, Sally had been dropping off an update on one of the cases Wufei had finished at Wufei's apartment a block from here. When she arrived, Wufei was lying on the floor with a bullet wound to the chest."

Quatre nearly fell from his chair, but before he could ask, Une told him the answer, "He's stable. Sally put her talent to good use; he'll make it out just fine."

"Who did it?"

Une heaved a wary sigh and the true source of her stress came forward, "Sally thinks he did."

Silence filled the air as the words sunk in to Quatre. Quatre knew what Une meant, but he did his best to work around it, "Was he cleaning his gun?"

"No, Quatre, Sally thinks it's suicide. The trajectory of the bullet coincides with that theory as well. We just don't know why."

"Why not choose a different method? Bullet to the chest isn't very effective. Why not a bullet to the roof of the mouth? I don't understand why he'd put himself through extra pain. Suicide's the coward's way out; I don't see Wufei taking it."

Une sighed, "I didn't either, but Sally's his partner. She says Wufei hasn't been acting himself as of late."

Quatre sighed and let his head fall, "What will you do with him?"

Une took a deep breath, "Actually, that's the real reason I'd called."

Quatre caught her eyes and finished for her, "You want me to take him?"

Une nodded, "Sally's got to be in Tokyo tonight and is suppose to head up to L3 to aid in some reconstruction. She's assigned there indefinitely. That leaves the only person Wufei trusts around here gone...except you."

Quatre glanced at the other monitor where Trowa's face hovered, looking concerned but not knowing what was wrong. He sighed and turned but to Une.

"How could I say no? My sister Hazel is a doctor, and she's visiting me at the moment so that covers the medical issue. I also have a sister living on the other side of town who's a psychologist; so if Wufei's really losing it, she can help."

Une nodded, "I thought as much. You also have that Arab corp. beneath you who can help you keep an eye on him. That last thing we need is for him to be left alone."

Quatre nodded. They exchanged brief words before disconnecting and updating Trowa. The two of them spoke briefly about it before Trowa turned to inform his sister Catherine. Trowa turned back to Quatre.

"I'll be over there tomorrow."

Quatre gave a start, "What do you mean? Don't you have to be there?"

"Catherine says I should be over there with you. You shouldn't have to deal with Wufei by yourself, suicidal or not," Trowa elaborated, "So I'll be there tomorrow."

Quatre nodded and smiled, "Thank you, Trowa. I really didn't want to have to deal with this alone."

A strange look past over Trowa's face as he whispered something, almost to himself. Quatre strained to hear it and was startled when he realized what it meant.

"With me alive, Quatre, you'll never be alone."


	10. Come Together

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Author's Note: This is the last of my prewritten chapters. I plan on writing on the next one the second this is uploaded so maybe you won't have to wait very long for the next one.

Warnings: Yaoi. Adult Situations implied.

**Chapter 9**

**Come together . . . right now**

Duo entered his dorm room to find Heero once again gone. Heero left a lot these days. Duo wondered where he was going all the time. Heero wasn't the type to make friends, so what could he do out there by himself?

It didn't bother Duo that Heero wasn't here. Duo had something he needed to do, and Heero couldn't be here when he did it. Duo removed his coat and shoes before he entered the bathroom and opened the clear shower door. He then reached up and rotated the shower head, letting it fall into his hand. The other hand caught a small black device that fell out. It was a tiny security camera.

Now used for something other than security unless you count keeping an eye on the shampoo.

He replaced the shower head and walked out of the bathroom and over to his bed. He lifted the mattress and pulled out a laptop of his own. He then hooked the camera up to his computer and uploaded the data from it. With that done, he replaced the camera and returned to the laptop. He scanned the footage and deleted himself out of it. Then dated it and passworded it. He labeled it as hidden and he watched the folder disappear from view.

He'll watch it later. He wanted to do something else first. He hid his laptop back beneath his mattress and walked over to Heero's desk. He pulled Heero's laptop free and hooked it up and turned it on. He wanted to know what Heero was doing on the damn thing. Back when they did missions, he'd understand why Heero could be on it so much, but now there wasn't a need.

He opened the hard drive and scanned the contents. Nothing seemed out of place. Heero had deleted all of the old mission data for security reasons and the computer seemed to hold nothing more than what it came with. Duo opened the storage for the word processor and found a series of files labeled with numbers. A brief comparison among different numbers led him to assume that they were dates. He scrolled down and opened a recent one.

At first he didn't know what to make of it. It seemed to be a report on what Heero had done on that day. Duo knew old habits die hard, but this was pushing the sanity barrier. He recognized the day as the one Heero had walked in on him in the shower. He scanned the text down to the point where Heero opened the door. Everything after that was not how Duo remembered it at all.

(On Screen:)

I stood at the door in surprise. My mind's preoccupation had diverted my attention enough not to realize the shower had been on. I found myself standing in the bathroom with my eyes locked onto Duo's figure. Duo had been washing a thigh and had it propped up so he could be thorough. My eyes lingered on the soap suds as they trailed down his thigh and toward his knee. My eyes caught a glimpse of hair and diverted to Duo's head. The hair was out of it's usual braid and was damp and stuck to his form. His form was well tanned, slim and firm.

Duo's head came up at my entranced and his eyes locked onto me. Whether he made a similar appraisal of me, I do not know. I was preoccupied on trying not to rip off my clothes and jumping my roommate. My brain was commanding my legs to take me from the room before the image of Duo damaged it, but my legs had other plans. I found myself moving forward toward the object of my internal turmoil. He straightened as I approached. I stopped there in front of him. My heart was pounding and my shorts felt far more constricting than before.

Duo reached out and touched me. The feeling of his fingers moving against my chest as he removed my shirt was the end for me. My brain gave up in its struggles and decided to enjoy the view. Soon, I found myself naked and against my braided friend.

Duo had to force himself to stop reading. That was what Heero spent his time doing? Writing about imaginary sex? If Heero wanted it that bad, Duo would be happy to oblige, very happy indeed.

Duo closed down the laptop and put it away. He glanced at his watch and nearly choked on his tongue. Heero's class had come and gone. Heero always returned to the room to drop of his bag and would be back any second! Duo glanced around to make sure there was no evidence of his snooping. His quick appraisal found nothing, if one can call the raging arousal in his pants nothing.

Duo sighed in near defeat. What was he going to do about that? He heard the sounds of footsteps in the hall and felt panic coming on. He dived onto his bed and did his best to look like he was sleeping. Moments later, the door opened and Heero entered.

Heero glanced around the room and noted Duo's presence. Duo rarely took naps, but when he did, he was out like a light. With that in mind, Heero made no effort to quiet his actions. He dropped has bag onto his bed and stretched. Duo could see the skin of his tummy as his shirt lifted up with the movement.

The phone rang and Heero went to answer it. The dorm's video screen came on and there was Quatre. Duo gave a start and pretended to just awaken as the blonde Arabian greeted Heero. Duo rose to stand by Heero's shoulder.

"Hey, Quatre, long time no see! What's up?" Duo asked, trying to sound sleepy and cheerful at the same time.

Quatre gave him a soft smile, "Has Une called you yet?"

Heero shook his head as Duo checked the call log.

"No, why would she call us?" Duo asked.

"To tell you about Wufei," Quatre sighed. "She should have called."

"What about Wufei?" Heero asked.

"Wufei received a bullet to the chest. Sally Po swears it's a suicide attempt."

The two of them stared at Quatre in disbelief.

"Suicide? That's more like Heero's style," Duo chided. "I can't see Wufei doing something like that. Of course, I haven't exactly talked to him lately."

"That's what I thought. Une placed Wufei under my care. He arrived this morning. Trowa's here too," Quatre paused. "Are you guys busy?"

"I'll be there tonight," Duo said. "I'll be packed in five minutes and we'll catch a plane."

"I'll call the Dean to secure our absence," Heero said.

"See you shortly, Quatre," Duo said and disconnected.

"Damn," Duo swore as he marched over to his dresser. "I never expected this."

Heero offered no comment as he placed his call to the Dean's secretary. The woman seemed rather annoyed, but patched him through. Duo was packed five minutes later as promised and Heero finished his call.

"We're clear to go. Quatre made a call when I did and the Dean dismissed me quickly with an 'I'll take care of it'."

"Go, Quatre. Being rich helps."

Heero was soon packed and the two were out the door, leaving the room, if not the sexual tension, behind.


	11. Supernatural Suspicions and Disbelievers

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Author's Note: Well, our Gundam Pilots are slowly coming together and soon everybody will be where I want them. Forgive misspellings and bad grammar.

Tora Macaw: Thanks for all of your encouraging comments. And yes, I did know Zechs sounds like sex. I realized it in the middle of a conversation where I was talking about GW artwork and asked her if she had seen the Wild Turkey Zechs picture. She looked stunned long enough for me to realize what it sounded like I had said.

**Chapter 10**

**Supernatural Suspicions and Disbelievers **

Trowa sat next to the bed Wufei was lying on. Wufei had arrived less than an hour before, still unconscious and they were told it might be a day or two before Wufei might awaken. Trowa, while normally having high regard for Sally, simply couldn't believe Wufei had tried to kill himself. He remembered what little time he had spent with Wufei since he had first met him, and nothing added up. Trowa could remember when he two of them had sat before the fire at the circus camp and registering a deep sadness and some confusion in Wufei, but nothing that would convince Wufei to take his own life. He knew Wufei carried a lot of guilt and a decent-size sense of self-loathing with him from the war and the Mariemeia incident. They all carried a bit of both, but he couldn't imagine that Wufei would be overwhelmed by them enough to consider suicide.

Trowa examined the cuts and bruises on Wufei's face. They certainly looked like they could come from a brawl, but Sally said that they may have come from a fall and suggested that he may have fallen down the stairs in his apartment building. Une had sent officers back to Wufei's apartment to look for evidence and Trowa hoped they found evidence of someone else being involved so Sally would drop the suicide issue.

Trowa's ears picked up the sounds of people in the hall. He heard Quatre's voice as he spoke to the Maganac stationed outside Wufei's door. The door opened and Trowa watched Quatre walk in and move to stand next to his chair. Trowa's heart gave a flutter, but he easily kept himself calm after he saw the look on Quatre's face.

"Something is very wrong in here, Trowa."

Trowa raised an eyebrow and glanced back to Wufei.

"Besides that. Something is obviously wrong with Wufei, but . . . something in this room is wrong," Quatre said, he glanced about the room with his eyebrows drawn together.

Trowa hadn't noticed anything suspicious about the room while he had been sitting in it, but this was Quatre's house. He would know better than Trowa if something was wrong with the room.

Trowa watched as Quatre shifted his weight uneasily and closed his eyes. Trowa took the chance to admire him openly. Quatre's soft features clung to a weariness that had more to do with his work than the situation with Wufei. The effect made him look like a troubled angel. Trowa's eyes locked onto Quatre's lips as Quatre extended his tongue to wet them in his concentration and then began to chew on his bottom lip. Trowa had trouble pulling his gaze away. Nothing seemed to happen for a long time, and Trowa had just pulled his eyes off Quatre in time to notice Wufei's body shiver.

Trowa stood up to get a blanket and halted when he looked at Quatre. Quatre had suddenly gone pale and had started to shiver himself. One of Quatre's hands came up to his chest and fisted against his heart as another shiver passed over him. He gave a gasp, and his eyes burst open. Trowa brought a hand up to steady him as he swayed a bit before planting Quatre into the chair.

"Quatre?"

Quatre took another struggled breath before letting his eyes rest on Wufei, who gave another shiver. "It's almost like something else is in the room with us."

Trowa cast a suspicious glance about the room, but had a pretty good idea that he wouldn't be able to see anything.

"A ghost?" Trowa offered. "You think someone is haunting, Wufei?"

Quatre took a moment to reflect before nodding. "Something either followed Wufei here or it's part of Wufei himself. Wufei has always been hard for me to read, but this is different. Before when I had trouble reading Wufei, it still felt like Wufei, or similar enough to Wufei. This isn't anything like Wufei at all."

"What do you mean?"

Quatre sighed and seemed to search for words. "It's always felt like I was getting distorted emotions from Wufei. It's always been. . .fuzzy-like. As if it was being filtered through something and mixed with something else entirely, but still felt like it was mostly Wufei."

"Maybe he's had training to block your empathy."

"That's what I thought too, and it's not like I'm an amazing empath or anything, so I just assumed nothing was wrong. But this is all different. I'm still getting that same fuzzy feeling from him, but it's almost like there is another fuzzy feeling there, this one separate from Wufei altogether. It's harsher than Wufei and feels very negative. Angry. Definitely angry and vengeful."

"Vengeful?"

Quatre nodded. "I. . .I think it had something to do with what happened to Wufei. Sally was right, Trowa. I think Wufei DID try to kill himself. But he didn't want to."

"You think he was possessed."

Quatre nodded.

"That's gonna be hard for others to swallow, Quatre."

"I know. But the feeling is just so strong. Something in this room really hates Wufei."

"But the feeling is fuzzy, like everything else you get from Wufei."

"Yeah."

"Are you sure it's not Wufei?"

Quatre looked at him straight in the face. "What?"

"The hatred for Wufei. Are you sure it's not Wufei hating himself?"

"Of course it's not. Wufei's sense of self-loathing is nowhere near this extreme. He hated himself for a long time, Trowa, but it's not really like that anymore. I only saw him about a month ago and he was perfectly fine."

Trowa glanced over at Wufei, more so he wouldn't have to look Quatre in the face than to check on Wufei. Trowa didn't really believe in ghosts and such things, but Quatre seemed so sure. . . .

"Quatre, could it be an imprint?"

"An imprint?"

"Someone else's emotion left upon Wufei. Like a lingering emotion belonging to someone else. Like maybe someone who attacked him."

Quatre looked off to the side and seemed to be contemplating. "I guess it could be. Sometimes really strong emotions linger, but that usually only happens when the person dies. Though I have heard of people sensing great anger at murder scenes, and that could have come from the killer."

"Then the person who attacked Wufei could have left the anger you're feeling now."

"Possibly."

The two of them stood there looking at each other. It was very apparent that neither of them wanted to agree completely with the other.

"Explain the bullet trajectory then," Quatre said, crossing his arms.

"I'd have to see the layout of Wufei's apartment before I could rationalize a way for it to look like a suicide. But it can be done, Quatre. I've seen it done."

Trowa saw a brief flash of something pass through Quatre's eyes, but it was gone before he could identify it.

"And the odd behavior? Sally said that he hasn't been himself lately."

Trowa didn't have to think long to combat that one either, "Maybe Wufei felt it coming. Instincts, or maybe he felt like he was being watched. Did she say what he was doing different?"

Quatre shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't talked directly to Sally. I've just talked to Une and then the preventers who delivered Wufei."

Quatre sighed and rubbed his temples. "It doesn't matter what we think right now. When Wufei wakes up he'll be able to give us some answers."

Trowa nodded his consent on that. They were silent for a few uncomfortable moments before there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Quatre called.

"Master Quatre," Rashid's deep voice came from behind the door. "I need to speak with you."

Quatre nodded, not thinking about the fact Rashid couldn't see him, and took one last glance at Wufei. "I'm thinking we might have to put the guard inside the room, instead of having him listen through the door."

"Wufei won't like that. He's a very private person."

"I know, but Wufei's running out of options."

Quatre walked to the door and sighed, bracing himself for what he was going to have to discuss with Rashid about the current security and leaving Trowa to watch over Wufei.


End file.
